2001 German Grand Prix
29 July |officialname = LXIII Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland |circuit = Hockenheimring |location = Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 6.823 |laps = 45 |distance = 307.035 |pole = Juan Pablo Montoya |polenation = COL |poleteam = |poletime = 1:38.117 |fastestlap = 1:41.808 |fastestlapdriver = Juan Pablo Montoya |fastestlapnation = COL |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 20 |winner = Ralf Schumacher |winnernation = GER |winnerteam = |second = Rubens Barrichello |secondnation = BRA |secondteam = |third = Jacques Villeneuve |thirdnation = CAN |thirdteam = }} The 2001 German Grand Prix, officially known as the LXIII Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland, was the twelfth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 29 July 2001.'German GP, 2001', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr675.html, (Accessed 09/11/2019) The race would see Ralf Schumacher sweep to victory for a dominant team, albeit after teammate Juan Pablo Montoya was removed from the lead via an engine failure. Indeed, it was Montoya who set the timesheets alight during qualifying, edging out teammate Schumacher by 0.019s to grab his first pole position. Behind, Mika Häkkinen got his powered into third ahead of Championship leader Michael Schumacher, while their teammates David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello shared the third row. The start saw the two Williams fly off the line to claim an early lead, while an awful start for Michael Schumacher saw the #1 Ferrari crawl away. That resulted in a lot of confusion in the pack behind, and inevitably saw Luciano Burti slam into the back of the scarlet car which launched the Brazilian onto the top of Jos Verstappen and Enrique Bernoldi in their two s. With a lot of carbon fibre littering the circuit the race was red-flagged and the field reset to grid order, with Schumacher jumping into the spare Ferrari. At the second attempt the German ace made a strong start and almost leapt ahead of Häkkinen, although both were powerless to prevent Montoya and Ralf Schumacher from sprinting away out front. Indeed, the two Williams-BMWs were untouchable in the early stages, simply easing clear during the early stages as Michael Schumacher scythed past Häkkinen for third. Behind, Verstappen made strong progress in his repaired Arrows, leaping into the top ten, while Pedro de la Rosa took Nick Heidfeld out after locking up at the Clark Chicane. Montoya soon established himself at the head of the field, setting a succession of fastest laps to eek out a lead from his teammate. Häkkinen, meanwhile, would disappear with an engine issue having been passed by Barrichello, who subsequently claimed third from his teammate Michael Schumacher as the top five began to fall away from one another. It looked as if Montoya was on for a dominant maiden victory, until a refuelling issue during his stop on lap 22 cost the Colombian racer twenty seconds. That left him in fourth once the rest of the front runners had stopped, only for a potential fight-back to be curtailed by an engine failure on lap 25. His exit followed that of Michael Schumacher, who had been forced to stop his Ferrari after a low-fuel pressure warning. Their two retirements hence left Ralf Schumacher in the lead from Barrichello, while Coulthard moved into third until he suffered an engine issue of his own. With that the race for victory was effectively over, with Ralf Schumacher able to cruise home to claim his third win of the campaign and his first on home soil. Barrichello was next ahead of Jacques Villeneuve, the Canadian claiming only his second podium finish of the campaign, while Giancarlo Fisichella, Jenson Button and Jean Alesi claimed the remaining points. Background Michael Schumacher moved onto 84 points for the campaign after his second place finish in Silverstone, ahead hence left the British circuit with a daunting 37 point lead. Indeed, with six races to go it seemed as if it was Schumacher's title to lose, with a non-score for David Coulthard on home soil potentially ending his bid for the crown. Behind, Rubens Barrichello had moved back ahead of Ralf Schumacher, while Mika Häkkinen climbed back into the top five after his first win of the campaign. In the Constructors Championship had effectively claimed the crown with six races to go, leaving Silverstone with 118 points to their credit. That translated into a 52 point lead over second placed , who were themselves twenty ahead of in third, that gap having grown courtesy of Häkkinen's win. Behind, had inched away from to enhance their claim to fourth, with no other changes to the order. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Qualifying Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * 650th Grand Prix start for as an engine supplier.'12. Germany 2001', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/allemagne.aspx, (Accessed 09/11/2019) * 1000th individual race entry for a engine.'2001 German GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2001&gp=German%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 09/11/2019) * Juan Pablo Montoya claimed his maiden pole position. ** Also the 110th pole for a chassis. * Third career victory for Ralf Schumacher. ** Also the 100th win for a car using #5 as its race number. * Williams claimed their 106th win as a constructor. ** secured their twelfth win as an engine supplier. * 23rd and final podium finish for Jacques Villeneuve. Standings With neither Championship leader Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard managing to score there had be no change atop the Drivers Championship, although that worked in favour of the former as it meant there were just five races left in the campaign. Indeed, Schumacher's 37 point advantage looked even more daunting with just 50 points left to fight for, and meant that he could win the Championship in Hungary if he out-scored Coulthard by four points. Behind, Ralf Schumacher had moved back into third with victory, overhauling Rubens Barrichello, while Mika Häkkinen completed the top five. In the Constructors Championship had inched closer to retaining their crown, leaving Germany with a 58 point lead. remained their closest challengers, although they were more in a fight for second than the Championship as the season entered its final phase, for had cut the gap between them to just ten points. Elsewhere, had moved up into seventh, while overtook to claim a top five spot. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2001 Grands Prix Category:German Grand Prix